Electric vehicles (EVs) got a good showing in Philip Hammond’s Budget on Wednesday, with a new £400 million fund for charge points, an extra £100 million to make EVs cheaper to buy, and a further £40 million for EV innovation. There were also tax tweaks for workplace charging and diesel cars and a plan to […]

]]>Electric vehicles (EVs) got a good showing in Philip Hammond’s Budget on Wednesday, with a new £400 million fund for charge points, an extra £100 million to make EVs cheaper to buy, and a further £40 million for EV innovation. There were also tax tweaks for workplace charging and diesel cars and a plan to electrify the Government vehicle fleet.

As soon as possible

This raft of measures is very encouraging (although some rather less so than others). But my favourite bit was when the Chancellor said that moving to electric cars is “a change that needs to come as soon as possible for our planet”.

However, the UK is planning to continue selling fossil fuelled cars for another 22 and a bit years (265 months). Is that really “as soon as possible”?

Lagging behind

Internationally, the UK is lagging way behind other countries. We currently sit joint-bottom of the league of countries’ EV targets, behind India, Ireland and Slovenia, among others. China is also making huge strides, making up more than half of global EV sales in Q3 2017.

WWF are asking the Government to show ambition, reaffirm its international leadership in tackling climate change and driving innovation by bringing forward their target to 2030. This will help clear up the filthy air we are breathing at the roadside and cut carbon emissions closer to the pace required by the Paris Agreement.

Increasing ambition

Politically, there are two big prizes to increasing the ambition of the EV target.

Firstly, the countries that are quickest to embrace EVs will secure the most investment and jobs in this new industry. This includes the production of the vehicles, batteries and charge points, plus new jobs in EV servicing and battery repurposing. In the context of Brexit, potential investors need reassurances that the UK is the right bet for their cash. A strong target makes a bold statement that will help convince investors to put their money into UK plc.

But just as importantly, this increase in ambition would also show that the UK remains a major diplomatic force for good post-Brexit. Increasing ambition is the name of the game in the UN climate talks over the next 12 months. This is because of a process created at the most recent talks in Bonn called the Talanoa Dialogue.

WWF had a major presence at these talks (known as COP23), with around 140 pandas attending in total. Our first ever pavilion (the “Panda Hub”) hosted over 50 events advancing the debate on climate action. This included a forum on electric vehicles, with a keynote speech by Scottish Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham, and a panel discussion with leaders from cities, car makers, the finance sector and academia.

Roseanna Cunningham highlighted Scotland’s 2032 target to phase out non-EVs, “well ahead of the 2040 target from the UK Government”. Vice Mayor of Oslo Lan Marie Berg explained how her city was leading the way on climate change and EVs. Oslo is working to treble the number of free public charging points and make all cars in the city electric by 2030. When we asked the audience when petrol and diesel cars should be phased out, over half replied 2030 or sooner.

Time to bring the UK’s EV target forward to 2030

The UK is looking to end the scourge of deadly air pollution. It’s looking to attract investment and create new high-tech EV jobs. And it’s looking to raise its climate ambition in line with the Paris Agreement. So bringing forward its EVs target to 2030 feels like a no-brainer for the UK Government’s forthcoming EV strategy next March.

I’ve been head of climate and energy at WWF-UK since late November 2016. We talked about the Government’s ‘emissions reduction plan’ in my interview for the job; it was late, even then. It was, at that time, expected before Christmas. Then ‘early in the new year’, then ‘in the first quarter’ – which could have […]

]]>I’ve been head of climate and energy at WWF-UK since late November 2016. We talked about the Government’s ‘emissions reduction plan’ in my interview for the job; it was late, even then. It was, at that time, expected before Christmas. Then ‘early in the new year’, then ‘in the first quarter’ – which could have been the calendar year or the financial year. And then an election campaign intervened – then summer recess, then the party conferences. Finally, on 12th October 2017, we have the UK Government’s Clean Growth Strategy.
Clean Growth Strategy front page

So, what is it, why are we obsessed about it, and is it any good?

What is the Clean Growth Strategy?

Reduction of UK greenhouse gas emissions is regulated by the 2008 Climate Change Act. This requires the UK Government to agree and set carbon budgets to cut emissions by 80% by 2050. Budgets are agreed by Parliament, with the levels and trajectory recommended and reported on to Parliament by the Government’s advisers, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

The Act also requires Ministers to make a plan –‘proposals and policies’ for how we’ll meet the budgets. The last time Government did that was in 2011. It was pretty thin on detail, but actually the UK has done a lot to cut emissions – mostly in relation to electricity. As a result, we’re doing well against our carbon budgets. Not only have we met the first two, but we’ve passed the 37% reduction in emissions that we were to have achieved by 2020. In fact, UK emissions are down over 40% since 1990 – a period when the economy has grown by more than two thirds.

However, a whole bunch of policies which have helped do this come to an end soon. Without a new plan, we’d therefore have nothing to set out how we plan to meet the fourth carbon budget (2023-2027) or the fifth (2028-2032) – by which time, we should have cut emission by more than 57%. That’s what we’ve been waiting for – and what became the Clean Growth Strategy.

Why are we obsessed with it?

Because it’s so late. Because it only deals with plans to get to 80% reductions in emissions anyway. Because the Paris Agreement means that we need to get further than that by 2050. Because you should always be suspicious when governments don’t do things they said they’d do! And because we care passionately about tackling climate change.

So, is it any good? Well, this probably depends who you are…

Theresa May, Prime Minister

“Clean growth is not an option, but a duty we owe to the next generation”, she said in her foreword to the strategy. OK, but does this fulfil the duty?

Claire Perry, Climate Change Minister

Measures in the clean growth strategy “not only continue our work in cutting emissions, but we can also cut consumer bills, drive economic growth, create high-value jobs right across the UK and improve our quality of life. It is a win-win opportunity: it is ours for the taking”, she told Parliament.

She’s probably pretty proud of what she and her officials have delivered in this strategy. And, given the tone and ambition of it, some of that is deserved. She gives every impression of believing passionately that we need to take action to tackle climate change, and that doing so is good for our economy. At WWF, we share that view and are very happy to hear it expressed by UK Ministers.

Her predecessor, Nick Hurd, was similarly passionate. But even he acknowledged yesterday that the strategy was better than when he left the department.

This owes a lot to the politics. The PM’s former adviser, Nick Timothy, questioned the value of the Climate Change Act and argued for reducing support to green measures and delaying climate action. His departure has almost certainly given the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department more scope for ambition –more power to influence colleagues elsewhere in Whitehall.

Additionally, and much-discussed at the Conservative Party conference, young people didn’t vote Tory at the last election. By a significant margin, they voted Labour. Why does this matter? Because according to the World Economic Forum, climate change is the top issue of concern for ‘millennials’. Polling by Conservative think tank, Bright Blue, bears this out in a British context, with climate change second only to health. Most importantly, young people perceive Conservatives as weak on climate action – despite what they’ve achieved in government.

People working in the industries delivering clean growth

If you work on energy efficiency – helping cut our energy use and make our homes warmer and healthier – you’ll be delighted at the Government’s ambition, if a bit puzzled about how they’ll achieve it. Here at WWF, and via our excellent and committed supporters, we campaigned for an energy efficiency target. We asked the Government to commit that all homes should reach at least energy performance certificate (EPC) level C by 2035. This would cut emissions from homes by a third –equivalent to taking 3 million cars of the road! So, like those investing and creting jobs in the sector, we were very pleased indeed to see this in the strategy.

If you work in offshore wind, you’re already deliriously happy at recent news that turbines being built in five years’ time will generate power at a price lower than new gas generation. And now this strategy offers up another half a billion pounds to buy more offshore wind in an auction in 2019. Buying 10GW or more – and offering the chance for onshore wind on Scottish islands to bid for contracts too – this is a huge boost for an important industry that’s delivering big cost reductions, new high-skilled jobs, and valuable investment in the UK.

If you work in onshore wind, you’ll be disappointed that there’s nothing here for what is already one of the cheapest means of generating power. If you work in solar, as the Solar Trade Association demonstrated, you’re angry about continued lack of support for another very cheap form of power generation. And if you’re hoping to build a tidal power scheme in Swansea Bay, you remain mystified about the Government’s intentions.

Committee on Climate Change

Lord Deben, Chair of the CCC, welcomed the plan, recognising its ambition whilst cautioning that the challenge lies in delivery. However, he went on to warn that Government shouldn’t try and meet carbon budgets by using accounting ‘flexibilities’ in the Climate Change Act – that the clear intention is that budgets should each be met by domestic action to achieve the lowest cost emissions reduction path to 2050.

Why did he say that? Well, because the strategy leaves a possible gap in 2032 between what the fifth carbon budget should deliver, and what it will deliver. To be fair, Government says it can’t yet work out what all of its new plans will deliver in terms of emissions reduction – many still need more work. Just some of the measures, along with existing plans, might currently leave us as much as 9.7% short of the 2032 budget. This would mean that the only way to stay on target would be either to use overshoots from previous budgets, or to trade credits internationally. Neither the CCC nor WWF think this is the right way to do things. To be fair, again, neither do Government – Claire Perry said they hope and plan not to have to do this. But we must keep an eye on that!

WWF

Well, we’re pleased with the ambition, the money for renewables and the homes target. It’s great to hear Government re-affirm commitment to phasing out coal from power generation – although we do need to see the plan for achieving that. There are lots of other things in there that will help and that we welcome the opportunity to get involved in shaping. In the rounds, lots of these are good for energy bill-payers too – more home-grown power and better, more energy-efficient homes will do so much more to cut energy costs in the long-run than a cap on energy prices will.

But we’re worried at the lack of new policies on transport and we still think that a phase-out of diesel and petrol car sales by 2040 is leaving it at least a decade too late. We’re deeply worried about the absence of a plan for dealing with emissions from aviation – not least the increased emissions as a result of building a new runway at Heathrow. And we’re anxious about the lack of detail under some of the ambition and headlines.

Overall – does the Clean Growth Strategy do the job?

Lots to welcome; lots to challenge. There’s still a lot to do – devil in the detail, or in the lack of detail –and we’ll stay obsessed with it. What’s more, we’re going to work harder and harder to get more and more people obsessed with it! It’s never guaranteed that a Government will do absolutely the right thing because all or most people want them to. But it is guaranteed that they probably won’t bother doing things that they think people don’t care about. So we’ll be continuing – and stepping up – our work to help make sure Government knows just how many people care about taking climate action, and just how much.

It’s a deceptively simple question with a few interesting answers. Let’s take a look at the options for charging an electric car with renewable energy, ranging from getting your own solar panels to timing your charge for the greenest power. Why go for an electric car? First of all, let’s talk about why you might […]

]]>It’s a deceptively simple question with a few interesting answers. Let’s take a look at the options for charging an electric car with renewable energy, ranging from getting your own solar panels to timing your charge for the greenest power.

Why go for an electric car?

First of all, let’s talk about why you might want to buy an electric vehicle (EV). As well as being better for the environment, EVs are also just better cars than their fossil fuelled equivalents. As well as accelerating more quickly, they have nearly no internal moving parts. This reduces both noise and wear and tear, which means lower maintenance costs.

But it’s the running costs that really make the difference. According to GoUltraLow, cleaner vehicles can be anywhere from a third to 90% cheaper to run than their fossil fuelled equivalents. In fact, some energy suppliers are starting to offer completely free charging in exchange for using some of their spare battery power at peak times.

So if you’ve taken the plunge and got an electric car – how do you charge it with green energy?

Plug straight in to renewables

The most obvious answer is to plug your car straight into solar panels or a wind turbine. And this is doable. For example, this charge point in Sheffield describes itself as the UK’s “first fully integrated solar PV, storage and EV charging hub”. There’s another good one just down the road from Reading’s football stadium, connected directly to a wind turbine.

But of course most EV charging is done at home, which is one of the things that makes them so convenient. Domestic solar and EVs are a match made in heaven. One of the main headaches for households with solar on the roof is how to make sure they use all their solar electricity when it’s sunny, to save as much money and carbon as possible. EV charging is a fantastic way to do this. The same is also true of solar offices (like WWF’s). Workplace charging will be really important as EV numbers increase.

Get a green tariff

Not every home is suitable for solar though, so another option is to get a green tariff. However, these aren’t quite as simple as they seem. It’s tempting to imagine that National Grid has buttons and levers it can push and pull to send renewable electricity to some customers and dirty electricity to the rest, but that’s not really how it works. Most green tariffs work by your energy company matching your energy usage with an equivalent amount of energy they have either bought or generated from renewable sources.

The more people who switch to green tariffs, the greater the incentive to invest in renewable energy projects. So green tariffs are great, but even with green tariffs it’s still vital to ensure you’re using energy efficiently, minimising energy waste and being smart with when you use energy to reduce the need for fossil fuels.

Time your charging with our green energy forecast

The third option is to set your car to charge when the electricity grid itself is greenest. With more energy coming from sources that depend on the weather – like wind and solar – and less coming from fossil fuels, the “greenness” of the grid (known as “carbon intensity”) goes up and down throughout the day. See my previous blog for a more detailed explanation.

This helps relieve strain on the electricity grid and reduces the need to use those back-up fossil fuel plants, which is a win-win for both energy security and climate change. It could potentially save you money as well if you’re on a time of use tariff, where the price you pay for electricity fluctuates throughout the day. These tariffs are quite niche at the moment, but are expected to really take off in the next couple of years, alongside smart meters, smart home energy systems and electric cars.

Best of all, if your electric car is “vehicle-to-grid” capable, you could even be paid money back for giving a bit of your battery charge back to the grid during those high-carbon periods.

So how would you charge your electric car with renewable power? Let us know in the comments.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/charge-electric-car-renewable-energy/feed/4How to use more solar and wind power in your daily lifehttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/how-to-use-more-solar-and-wind-power-in-your-daily-life/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/how-to-use-more-solar-and-wind-power-in-your-daily-life/#commentsMon, 25 Sep 2017 23:01:39 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=24632

Could a green energy forecast help you use more solar and wind power and less fossil fuel? For all of you who have the pleasure of living with Britain’s infamous weather, you’ll know that wind and sunshine (the two main sources of our green electricity) can vary pretty wildly throughout the day. That means energy […]

]]>Could a green energy forecast help you use more solar and wind power and less fossil fuel?

For all of you who have the pleasure of living with Britain’s infamous weather, you’ll know that wind and sunshine (the two main sources of our green electricity) can vary pretty wildly throughout the day. That means energy from wind turbines and solar panels varies from hour to hour too.

We’re so used to having electricity any time at the flick of a switch that it’s easy to forget where it comes from. But when it’s not coming from renewables it’s mainly coming from big power stations like coal, gas, biomass and nuclear – all of which have big environmental problems.

Certain newspapers conclude therefore that renewables will never take off because: “What about when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing? Surely that leaves us hooked on fossil fuels?” Actually, it doesn’t. There are some great solutions to this problem that are coming on leaps and bounds.

How to make the grid and renewables work together

One option is to connect our electricity grid to other countries’ electricity grids. So when we’ve got less green energy online and another country has more than they need, they can send theirs to us through a big cable called an interconnector.

Another option is energy storage. When we’ve got more green energy than we need, we can store it in batteries. And when we need some more, we can get it back from those batteries. There are other technologies that store energy too, like pumped hydro.

But perhaps the best option is to simply make sure we use energy most when it’s windy and sunny and least when it’s not. WWF has teamed up with National Grid and Environmental Defense Fund Europe to try and make it easy for people to do exactly that.

Together we’ve developed a forecast that shows when energy will be green (and greenest) and dirty (and dirtiest) over the next two days. This means we can all play a part in reducing the use of fossil fuels by using the forecast to shift our energy use away from dirty times of day to clean times of day.

Green energy forecast for the next 24 hours

Can I really shift my energy use?

Not all energy use can be easily shifted. For example, we all have to make dinner and light our homes in the evening. But a lot of energy use can be shifted, such as dishwasher and washing machine cycles, and charging of phones, tablets and electric cars.

This is a win-win as it relieves pressure on the electricity grid, boosting our energy security, and also reduces the need for back-up fossil fuels, cutting our carbon emissions.

In fact, it could be a win-win-win and save households money as well. One of the most basic principles of economics is the law of supply and demand. Low supply and high demand increases prices while high supply and low demand reduces prices. But this relationship between supply of renewable energy and demand for energy doesn’t usually show up in our energy bills – yet.

That’s all going to change in the coming years with the introduction of new energy tariffs called time of use tariffs. These will make energy more expensive at peak times and cheaper at off-peak times (a bit like peak and off-peak train tickets).

With these tariffs, you could save money off your energy bills by shifting your energy use around. Time of use tariffs won’t be for everyone though, so you should only go for one if you are confident your energy shifting habits will stick!

With the right energy tariffs, you could potentially save money by shifting your energy use to greener times of day. (CC BY 2.0 BagoGames)

Next week I’ll do another blog about our green energy forecast looking in detail at electric cars. We’ll also be doing a lot more work over the coming months to make it even easier and more automatic to use the forecast. For now, have a play around with the forecast and see if there are any changes you could make to power your daily life with wind and sun. Let me know in the comments below or email jbeard@wwf.org.uk

Don’t forget!

The best way to cut your energy bills though (as well as carbon emissions) is home energy efficiency measures, which could save the average household £400 per year. We’re currently urging the UK Government to introduce energy saving measures for all households – help us out by sending an email to the Government to tell them to put greener homes and cheaper bills at the heart of the Clean Growth Plan.

People, economies and nature – they all depend on water. But by 2025, UNESCO predicts that water demands for two-thirds of the world’s population will exceed the available supply. In a world of increasingly severe water scarcity and pollution, it’s essential we improve how we manage freshwater resources right now. Businesses of every kind and […]

]]>People, economies and nature – they all depend on water. But by 2025, UNESCO predicts that water demands for two-thirds of the world’s population will exceed the available supply. In a world of increasingly severe water scarcity and pollution, it’s essential we improve how we manage freshwater resources right now.
Agricultural pumping, near the Mediterranean coast, Morocco

Businesses of every kind and in every sector will face serious risks, but also compelling opportunities. So whether it’s in your strategy or not, your company can expect to be grappling with water-related issues of one kind or another within a few short years, if you’re not already doing so. Here’s why…

1. As the global population increases, there will be less water to go around

Our planet is heading towards a human population of almost 10 billion by 2050. More people equals more houses, more infrastructure and much greater demand for water. Much of this population growth is happening in parts of the world already facing water stress. This will present all kinds of water-related challenges for people, businesses and supply chains: from lack of water to make products, or the impact of flooding and pollution, to the reputational and financial implications of doing things wrong or not being prepared.

We know that balancing resources for growth is a delicate art. In April, the Chinese government suspended permits for new coal plants in a majority of provinces – a win for climate action, right? But a statement released by the National Energy Administration cited ‘lack of water resources’ as a contributing factor.

The challenge is only set to grow. As intensive agriculture expands we see fertile soil eroding at an alarming rate of 24bn tonnes a year and already a third of our planet’s land is severely degraded. The links between water and soil cannot be ignored; intensive farming leaves top soil vulnerable to increased erosion, carrying pesticides and other chemicals into our waterways, increasing pollution and sedimentation. The knock on effects of this are widespread, and can include increased risk of flooding as well as greater pressure on remaining fertile land.

In the UK, Coca-Cola’s long-standing partnership with WWF, has repaired soils and replenished hundreds of millions of litres of water in chalkstream rivers – a unique and precious habitat for wildlife that’s only found in England and a small area of northern France. Projects like this are helping secure water resources for future generations of people and businesses.

2. Businesses are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement. And there will be market opportunities along the way

You can’t ignore them: global frameworks, collaborations and partnerships are all the rage. Your business is almost certainly already aligning to them, or is planning to, and your customers and employees will increasingly want to know what part you’re playing.

Climate, water and economic development are intertwined. Climate change is likely to have made the recent hurricanes in the US and Caribbean more extreme, and the Met Office has warned it will make the record winter rains and floods we’ll increasingly face here in the UK more intense, and therefore more costly. Conversely, there is an increasing likelihood of drought, which if left unaddressed could reduce UK GDP by £35 billion with 354,000 potential job losses.

Effective management and protection of the natural environment is key to reducing water risks facing business, whether that’s through flooding, drought, pollution or damaged reputations. In the UK, farming businesses and water supply companies have a key role to play, such as reducing demand for water and preventing over-abstraction from rivers and groundwater as well as reducing pollution. In addition, good water management can help tackle the causes of climate change. CDP’s (Formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) 2016 Water Report states that 24% of greenhouse gas emission reduction activities rely on a stable supply of good quality water.

Businesses that develop a commercial strategy with the SDGs and Paris in mind, rather than treating them as a CSR tick-box exercise, could unlock a wealth of opportunity. According to the Business and Sustainable Development Commission’s Better Business, Better World report, achieving the SDGs could unlock $12 trillion of market opportunities.

2020 will be a landmark year for both Paris and the SDGs, where the international community will review its collective progress and recalibrate its ambitions for 2030. What we do now is crucial in determining the mood of those conversations.

3. Governments listen to businesses

With the post-Brexit fate of all EU environmental legislation related to water and the environment still undetermined, now is the time to influence UK water policy. The Withdrawal Bill states that much of the environmental legislation we have will simply be transposed, however agricultural legislation – which heavily affects the environment and depends on water use – is set to change.

We’ve already started the conversation. WWF’s Nature Needs You campaign and other initiatives are engaging the private sector with events, workshops and setting up a dialogue between business leaders and the government, aimed at levelling the playing field for the companies already doing the right thing and pushing for policy that drives greater investment in sustainable business models.

Other UK regulation affecting water is also under review. Ofwat, the UK water services regulation authority, must ‘set the price, investment and service package that customers receive’. The 2019 price review (PR19) is under way. In July 2017 the consultation began, with final limits set in December 2019. PR19 is a vital step in delivering environmental benefits in England and Wales – where only 20% of water bodies currently achieve ‘good ecological status’. 2019 is also the date set for the EC review of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and both these processes should offer a chance for businesses to give their input and set out why good water management underpins the sustainability of their business.

4. Water attracts investor interest

With the framework provided by PR19, the WFD and the nature directives, the UK water sector has a basis to develop business plans that allow them to meet all of our needs – something they will be doing over the next 18 months. Last time round there was a whopping £42 billion invested, which is why these plans present attractive investment opportunities, as explained by Arnaud Bisschop at Pictet Water fund, in this 2016 article.

The water sector still needs to get a grip on issues like over-abstraction and sewer overflows, but many see it as a solid investment. In the UK, WWF are working as part of The Blueprint for Water to make sure key environmental priorities are considered in the business plans.

It isn’t just about water companies though, investors and global businesses are already feeling the financial impact of water risk. The latest Ceres report, Feeding Ourselves Thirsty, details the challenges faced by food companies and the damage water can do to their market value if not managed properly.

5. The tools and models you need already exist, so there’s no excuse for inaction!

Companies with agricultural supply chains ought to be aware of all the many smart water management tools that are out there, from satellite imagery and data-based tools, to groundwater monitoring and precision agriculture.

At WWF we challenge business to take a water stewardship approach. We get them to think and act differently and connect them with others in water catchments to seek collaborative solutions to water management. In the UK we have set out guidance for the food and drinks supply chain that wish to engage in water stewardship. It begins with awareness, then effective utilisation of the water risk filter, and leads to a circular approach to restoring habitats and promoting good governance. Businesses like SABMiller (now taken over by AB InBev) and M&S have successfully used these tools to take a water stewardship approach to managing water risks globally.

Elsewhere we’ve brought businesses together pre-competitively to build resilience into global supply chains. In India, WWF has the Ganges Leather Buyers Platform, where international businesses that source leather from India can collectively address pollution and water use issues. In the food and drink sector, WWF is working with the Courtauld Commitment 2025 to design and implement a water stewardship approach to the water commitment which will see business take action together in water risk hot spots around the world.

So whether a business has no choice but to mitigate its water risks or chooses to grasp a market opportunity, the case for action on water is clear. With only 1% of the world’s freshwater available for people to use, the decisions we make now will determine whether this resource can be managed for the long-term benefit of people, business and nature.

WWF is building a future where people and nature thrive by helping businesses work in ways that protect the natural world they depend on. Subscribe to our One Planet Business newsletter for updates and inspiration on corporate sustainability.

When I think back to June and July of this year I can’t help but have that well known Proclaimers song ‘Gonna Be’ in my head as it really did feel like I walked 500 miles (well 3,100 miles actually even if 1,000 of those were in a virtual sense!) visiting some amazing Green Ambassador […]

]]>When I think back to June and July of this year I can’t help but have that well known Proclaimers song ‘Gonna Be’ in my head as it really did feel like I walked 500 miles (well 3,100 miles actually even if 1,000 of those were in a virtual sense!) visiting some amazing Green Ambassador schools up and down the UK to present them with their awards. Ok, so I took a lot of trains – but there was a lot of walking too!

Apart from my tired feet, it’s certainly with a humungous sense of pride as I look back on my whirlwind tour of eleven schools all doing incredible things to support sustainability and environmental issues.

As part of WWF’s Green Ambassadors scheme it’s my job to work on our Green Ambassador Awards and I feel hugely privileged to be a part of this! During my visits I have had the chance to ask teachers and head teachers about how they find the time to fit in Green Ambassadors within the school hours and curriculum. Every school has had a completely different approach in bringing environmental studies into the classroom and linking it to the curriculum – and of course it isn’t an easy challenge.

Ysgol San Soir (a small school in Llandudno) has beehives located within their school grounds. The pupils and teachers have not only been learning on the job, as they have no previous experience of beekeeping, but they have found a way to weave in elements of the natural world into their maths lessons! The pupils at Ysgol San Sior have been looking at the shape of the honey combe hexagon, why this shape is beneficial to collect honey, and working out how much honey you can collect from this shape compared to other shapes.

Eleanor Walker and her green team at Victoria Park Primary School, Bedminster have been busy creating beautiful flyers as part of a campaign against traffic issues right outside their school and used the growing debate about road traffic during a persuasive writing lesson.

Pupils at Monymusk School had been looking at encouraging other children to learn how to ride a bike during the Big Pedal which helps pupils learn bike road safety but also how this helps people to reduce their travel footprint on the planet.

All of these examples showcased perfectly how schools are really thinking ‘outside the box’ when it comes to teaching pupils how to think about protecting our planet whilst learning all the standard areas of the curriculum.

It has been brilliant to meet such amazing, passionate and of course inspiring teachers and pupils and see first-hand how they are achieving great things in their school with very little time and budget. I think back to my school days and we never did anything like what the pupils are doing today. I never learnt how to grow a vegetable! My grandad, dad and my nieces all know how to plant, sow and grow but it seemed to skip my generation. I’m so inspired that today’s generation are learning more and more about our natural world!

The Green Ambassador Awards Tour

Wednesday 21 June and Thursday 22 June

My first school presentations took me to Scotland to present two schools with their awards. These two schools were totally different – George Heriot School in Edinburgh, sat in the heart of the city with a junior school of 620 pupils and Monymusk School sat in a quaint village hosting 60 pupils – both schools doing great things in taking action for our planet. During the visit our Green Ambassador Awards sponsor (People’s Postcode Lottery) joined me to film at the schools.

Friday 23 June

My next presentations were to two Northern Ireland schools, via Skype. Carrowreagh Primary School, Ballymoney had created solar powered bird nesting box cameras that had enabled them to bring technology back into the classroom. St Patrick’s Primary School, Moneymore has developed their outdoor area by planting more native trees along the boundary, whilst learning about Fairtrade and looking at how food impacts the planet – they even held a fair trade tea party which I was very sorry to miss as I love a good brew!

Monday 3 July

I then headed off on my second week of travels to visit Pollyplatt Primary School, Scampton. Their green team had been doing some great things and had been very created with a set of old tyres to create a ‘minion’ statue with lots of wild plants for hair!

The teacher award winner was Sylvia Milner from Middleton-on-the-Wolds Primary School, Driffield. Sylvia is affectionately known to her pupils as their ‘Earth Mother’ due to her enthusiasm for the environment. Each year group had their own garden plot and the green ambassador team planted their own area of flowers and vegetables.

Wednesday 5 July

The other teacher award had me travelling back down south to Maidenhead where I met another unsung hero called Jenny McQuillan from St Edmunds Campion Catholic Primary School who has been running the Green Ambassadors team for 12 years! We loved the welly ‘dogs’ that greeted us at the front door of the school…a great use of upcycling old wellies! They showed us around their school with their pupils eager to inform us of their learnings from litter picking to looking at water issues.

My next school was Victoria Park Primary School, Bedminster to present them with not one but two prizes. This Green Ambassador team is outstanding, their knowledge and depth of understanding environmental issues blew us away. With too many great examples to choose from – one activity that stood out to me was their amazing ‘shoe swap’ days and school clothing collection which saved 172kg of clothes from landfill!

Monday 10 July

Next on my tour was Warren Road Primary School, Orpington. Now I needed to persuade the excited key stage 1 pupils to keep the announcement a secret from key stage 2 during break time…thankfully they sailed through this tough challenge! I was delighted to award this school as I found out the teacher Mrs Millband was retiring…what a way to finish the school year!

My final two visits led me to North Wales and a trip through the beautiful Snowdonia! Ysgol Gynradd Abererch, Pwllheli encourages everyone in their school to be more sustainable and green and they work with the community and the local police trying to reduce traffic in the village surrounding the school, now parents, pupils and even teachers cycle or walk to and from school.

The final school was Ysgol San Sior, Llandudno. I met Ian Jones the head teacher who I can honestly say is the most down to earth and relaxed head teacher I have ever met. During our quick chat over a cuppa before the presentation a pupil knocked on the door and passed a message on to say that the bees from their hive were SWARMING! Ian told us that they were swarming because they either had two queens or the queen had moved. Ian casually mentioned that this happens a lot and no school days are ever the same with bees swarming and chickens escaping but as with all issues the pupils learn to deal with these things in a cool, calm responsible manner. The school are very business focused and look at ways they can reduce costs and bring money into the school for example selling their honey and creating chutneys and jams from their veg plot!

Last weekend was the summer bank holiday, which saw us heading off in our droves to visit friends and relatives or enjoy our beautiful beaches and countryside. One thing’s for sure: in amongst the persistent cries of “are we there yet?” (no!) and “I need the loo” (you should’ve gone before we left!), thousands of […]

]]>Last weekend was the summer bank holiday, which saw us heading off in our droves to visit friends and relatives or enjoy our beautiful beaches and countryside.

One thing’s for sure: in amongst the persistent cries of “are we there yet?” (no!) and “I need the loo” (you should’ve gone before we left!), thousands of games of I Spy will have been played on car journeys up and down the country.

Here at WWF, we’ve been thinking about how we want roads to look in the future, from 2020 onwards. So let’s imagine a car-based game of I Spy in 2025.

I spy with my little eye something beginning with CP.

The Government has said it wants everyone to be buying only electric vehicles from 2040. We reckon we could achieve that by 2030 – keeping us up there with electric vehicle leaders like the Netherlands, Norway and India, attracting investment in modernising the UK auto industry, and helping us meet our targets for tackling air quality and climate change.

Most electric vehicle drivers charge mainly at home and batteries are getting better year-on-year, but we do need rapid public charge points for those long journeys to see your relatives on the bank holiday. 96% of motorway services already have rapid charge points, but with more electric vehicles on the roads, we’re going to need way more of them.

Something beginning with T.

Trees are one of nature’s greatest inventions. They are a great natural form of carbon storage, helping to tackle climate change. They can help improve flood protection, which is also crucial for dealing with climate change. And of course they provide habitats for wildlife.

No wonder then the Government has a target to plant 11 million trees by 2020. However, recent reports suggest they’re some way off meeting that goal, with only 2 million planted since 2015.

It might sound surprising, but roadsides are actually great places for tree planting. At the roadside, as well as the benefits above, they also help screen walkers, homes and businesses from the noise and air pollution caused by road traffic. Win-win-win-win-win!

Something beginning with CP.

It’s hard to beat the bike when it comes to green transport. Not only are there no dirty exhaust fumes but cycling makes us healthier too. According to Cycling UK, regular cycling can reduce risks of deadly illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

As well as ensuring safe, good quality cycle paths (for example, when A-roads pass through towns and cities), it’s important to make sure major roads can be easily crossed by cyclists (as well as pedestrians). One simple way to do this is by building bridges, like the cycle bridge over the M5 near Exeter in Devon.

Something beginning with GB.

That’s right. It’s not just cyclists who need to be able to safely cross busy roads. It’s vital for wildlife too. Poorly designed roads chop up landscapes and sever animals from their natural habitats, increasing the risk of roadkill. It’s important to minimise this effect by incorporating biodiversity corridors, such as green bridges, to ensure safe movement of wildlife.

This Government has pledged to not only leave the environment in the same state it inherited it, but in a better state, and has committed to publish a 25 Year Environment Plan. The new roads strategy can help deliver this plan by not just minimising negative impacts on biodiversity, but by providing positive improvements for biodiversity such as green bridges.

Greener roads?

This appealing vision of greener roads won’t just happen on its own. It needs the UK Government to take action and put its money where its mouth is.

We’re one of several charities calling on the Department for Transport to put sustainability at the heart of its second Road Investment Strategy (RIS 2), which sets funding priorities for Highways England. Doing so will ensure the Strategy helps, rather than hinders, the Government’s goal to improve our natural environment and tackle crucial issues like climate change and air pollution.

To read more about making roads greener, click here to download the new report ‘Rising to the challenge: A shared green vision for RIS 2’.

One in every four pounds spent on heating is wasted by inefficient homes. We could cut the waste and our carbon emissions by fitting insulation. So why isn’t the Government doing more to encourage this simple way to tackle climate change? Energy is a precious resource. We go to extreme lengths to get the gas […]

]]>One in every four pounds spent on heating is wasted by inefficient homes. We could cut the waste and our carbon emissions by fitting insulation. So why isn’t the Government doing more to encourage this simple way to tackle climate change?

Energy is a precious resource. We go to extreme lengths to get the gas and oil that heats our homes: extracting it from thousands of metres below the cool waters of the North Sea or the baking sands of the Middle East. It’s then sent thousands of miles through a complex network of pipes, ships and lorries to reach the humble boiler in our homes. So it seems absurd to take this precious energy and put it into a leaky house where a third of it escapes straight out again. It’s like trying to collect rainwater with a sieve.

Unfortunately, four in five UK households do exactly that, with roofs, walls, windows and floors leaking energy into the air outside their homes. We’re needlessly paying the energy companies too much. And we’re producing easily avoided carbon emissions. The same carbon emissions that are driving climate change, which threatens 1 in 6 species.

Stop the leaks

Like many people, you’re probably wondering what you can do to help to protect our beautiful green and blue planet. One of the simplest and quickest ways to reduce your own carbon emissions is to make sure your home isn’t leaking energy like a sieve. Giving your home an energy makeover can have a big impact. If we insulated all of the UK’s homes to the right standard, we could reduce their emissions by 30% and shave £400 from the average home energy bill.

Our homes currently account for 20% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, and that figure is rising because too few people are making energy improvements to their old and leaky homes. It’s also rising because the UK Government is still allowing builders to erect high-carbon new homes. That’s why WWF UK is calling on the Government to make homes a priority in its long-overdue plan to show how it’s going to tackle climate change.

What do we need to do?

Millions of households haven’t done the basics like adding a roll of insulation to their loft or filling their cavity walls. And those that have may still have leaky floors, doors and windows. And if your house was built before 1920, you can be almost certain that its leaky solid walls haven’t been insulated. As a nation we spend £7.5 billion every year on home improvements. Most of that goes on new kitchens and bathrooms rather than insulation. Many of us just aren’t aware of the money that we could be saving, and insulation just isn’t a routine part of the conversations we have with tradespeople.

But Government can help. It already offers free insulation to vulnerable households. But in 2012 it replaced incentives that were available to all with the Green Deal, which provided loans instead. Most home-owners can already borrow the required cash; the Green Deal offered no new incentive and few people took it up. The Green Deal lives on, doing a good job of providing loans to those who might not otherwise get them. But we need real incentives to grab people’s attention and get them thinking about insulation.

Our homes shouldn’t cost the Earth

Loopy loopholes

Regulation also helps: one of the most successful carbon cutting policies in the UK was a Government mandated move to more efficient gas boilers. Rented homes are the leakiest of them all, and new regulations should prevent landlords in England and Wales from renting out the coldest properties from 2018. However, unless a loophole is fixed most landlords will be able to avoid making basic improvements.

Time to take action

Stopping energy from leaking out of our homes is the first step to reducing their emissions. That’s why we’re calling on the UK Government to make this a priority in its next plan to tackle climate change by:

History teaches us, over and over again, that when we’re faced with big challenges, we need good leaders to help us through them. Challenges don’t come on a much bigger scale for Planet Earth – and every living thing on it – than climate change. So do our leaders have the vision, ambition and stature […]

]]>History teaches us, over and over again, that when we’re faced with big challenges, we need good leaders to help us through them. Challenges don’t come on a much bigger scale for Planet Earth – and every living thing on it – than climate change. So do our leaders have the vision, ambition and stature to see us through? And what does that mean for UK climate policy?
Lionesses leading their cubs in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

‘Giants of yesteryear’

For years, I’ve mocked my Dad for repeatedly complaining about political leaders: “where are the giants of yesteryear?” he asks in fury or despair, “the Barbara Castles, Nye Bevans and Roy Jenkinses?” But as I get older, I’ve stopped mocking and started to nod a little morosely.

Facing a public health crisis in the 1960s, Castle legislated for seat-belts in cars, imposed motorway speed limits and introduced the breathalyser. Jenkins gave government backing to private members’ bills to transform the lives of millions, legalising abortion and decriminalising homosexuality; not following, but leading public opinion. And Bevan’s legacy is arguably one of the most radical moments of political leadership. Huge, ambitious and expensive at a time of financial hardship, with opposition from vested interests; done because “no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means” (Nye Bevan, In Place of Fear, 1952). Musing beyond my Dad’s preferences, you might add Macmillan for his leadership building 300,000 houses a year in the 1950s, or even Heath’s passionate championing of the European project in the 1970s.

Now here we are, in the 21st century, in one of the richest and most liberal countries on the planet. We’re confronted by an existential threat – climate change – for which, like the link between poverty and poor health, we understand both the cause and the solution.

UK climate policy leadership?

The UK government in 2008 led internationally by introducing the Climate Change Act; governments since have stood by it. The coalition government of 2010 was bold in committing £7.6bn of public subsidy, raised through energy bills, to leverage private money for renewable electricity infrastructure. From low single digits in 2010, a third of our electricity will come from renewables by 2020 as a result.

But, just five years on, the next government was elected on a promise to scale this back – to cut support to the cheapest forms of generation, before they can readily be built without public assistance. Despite ratifying the Paris Agreement, UK leadership was replaced by timidity. Timidity in the face of those happy for the countryside to be criss-crossed by power wires between pylons to deliver power to their homes and businesses, but who don’t want wind turbines blotting our green and pleasant land. Timidity in the face of those who would have you believe your energy bills are spiralling upwards to fund these monstrosities. And timidity in the face of big companies with a future hitched to fossil fuels.

Energy bills

We can see this in the coverage of British Gas’ latest price hikes. As inconsistent with their figures as any politician caught on the stump without numbers to hand, British Gas’ parent company, Centrica, blamed the ‘green taxes’ bogey-man. This profitable multinational utility company, whose CEO takes home £4m each year, blamed an increase nearly five times the rate of inflation on something that makes up nine per cent of the average energy bill.

Daily Telegraph, 2nd August, 2017

The Committee on Climate Change has shown that government low-carbon policies – particularly energy efficiency measures – have actually cut energy bills. If these companies were honest about costs, not only would they acknowledge this, but they would pass on the fall in wholesale electricity prices that comes, in part, from the renewables revolution.

So, where were political leaders decrying this nonsense and making the case for this small proportion of our energy bills paying to tackle climate change? Where was former energy Minister Greg Barker’s excellent credo about moving from a ‘Big Six to big sixty thousand’ – premised on British Gas and co no longer being the only games in town? Comparison sites will show you how many providers there are now; as someone who has switched provider twice in recent years, I assure you it’s quick and easy to switch to a cheaper, greener provider.

Driving transport emissions

As with power, so with transport. Not only are greenhouse gas emissions from transport rising, but once again vehicles are driving a public health crisis – one causing 40,000 premature deaths a year, limiting children’s ability to learn, and harming their health. In response, after seven years of crisis, government has given local authorities eight months to see what they can do with £250m, and announced a 2040 ban on sales of petrol and diesel vehicles.

Going solely on media noise and industry cries of pain, you’d conclude this was big, brave, bold leadership. In reality, 23 years is a long time if we want to achieve our Paris goals. It’s also longer than the industry actually needs: take Volvo’s commitment to make all cars electric or hybrid in just two years’ time as Exhibit A.

So actually, this isn’t new and it follows the technology rather than setting technology-leading goals for industry. We lag behind India, Norway and the Netherlands, all with earlier phase-out commitments; bringing UK ambition forward to 2030 would be bold, maximising emissions reductions as well capitalising on jobs and growth opportunities.

Our homes shouldn’t cost the Earth

And finally, UK climate policy needs to be bolder to tackle emissions from our buildings too. Twenty-one million UK homes fall below energy performance certificate (EPC) rating C. Relatively modest improvements to bring them up to that level would cut their emissions by a third – equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the roads.

Tomorrow’s green giants?

We need bold ambition to tackle these three sources of emissions in UK climate policy – specifically the government’s Clean Growth Plan, expected in early September. We must hope that, when it comes to climate change, air pollution and environmental protection, we can one day look back fondly and annoy our kids by lauding the bold leadership of the Claire Perrys, Greg Clarks and Michael Goves of yesteryear.

(A version of this piece was first published by Business Green on 4th August, 2017)

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/big-tasks-need-big-leaders/feed/0Keeping the water flowing – how farmers in South Africa are protecting supplies for future generationshttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/habitats/rivers-freshwater/keeping-water-flowing/
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As I boarded the plane to fly to South Africa for the very first time, I was full of excitement and expectation. I’d heard many great things about WWF’s Mondi Wetlands Programme and now I had the opportunity to experience this work first hand. It was going to be invaluable learning for the work we’re […]

]]>As I boarded the plane to fly to South Africa for the very first time, I was full of excitement and expectation. I’d heard many great things about WWF’s Mondi Wetlands Programme and now I had the opportunity to experience this work first hand. It was going to be invaluable learning for the work we’re doing in Coastal Kenya.

Globally, wetlands are special places that are hugely important to people and wildlife. They provide us with water and food, support businesses and recreation, and are home to a rich array of wildlife.

They also prevent flooding and filter pollutants, acting as giant sponges – soaking up rainwater and releasing it slowly over time. Wetlands also play an important role in carbon sequestration and storage and so help to regulate climate.

Despite this, sadly some two-thirds of the planet’s wetlands have been destroyed since the turn of the 20th Century, and South Africa has lost over half its wetlands.

Africa’s Wetlands Under Threat

On my journey, I was leading a team of seven people, comprised of WWF staff and key partners. It would be a learning journey that would show us how other African Countries are managing freshwater in a sustainable way, in the face of increased pressure from economic development.

Farming, mining and oil and gas exploration are spreading quickly across coastal Kenya. These developments provide much needed economic opportunities but, without the proper safeguards in place, these could cause irreversible damage to the environment and local people.

So our trip to South Africa couldn’t have been timelier, and the Mondi Wetlands Programme couldn’t have been a more appropriate choice of location.

Like Kenya, South Africa is a water scarce country. The Mondi programme brings together farmers and other businesses to help them look after the region’s precious water supplies. Commercial forestry and sugar cane growing are some of the main activities that use – and depend on – a good supply of water.

An Inspiring Trip

The Programme has identified ‘champion farmers’ who act as role models in their communities, helping to influence others. So far, more than 300 farmers have signed up to an agreement to follow best practice guidelines. This includes things like adopting a method of sugar cane production, known as the Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative, which uses less water; ensuring that there are buffer zones around wetlands; and using a system to monitor the health of rivers.

As well as seeing a demonstration of the river monitoring system, we also had the opportunity to talk to local farmers. I was struck by their passion and commitment to ‘do the right thing’. Mr. Luther, who was one of the Programme’s champion farmers, told me: “I am not just driven by profit. I want to ensure my future generation will find healthier ecosystems, good quality soils and freshwater flowing from the springs”. Inspiring stuff!

And Mr Luther is not alone. It was heartening to see that a number of big companies in South Africa are promoting best practice in looking after water supplies. At the same time, the South African Government offers tax rebates to companies that support community groups in tackling environmental and social challenges. That’s not something we have in Kenya, but there are lots of other lessons we can take away.

A lot of sugar cane is already grown in Kwale County and this puts pressure on the Mkurumudzi River, which flows water from Shimba Hills. With our new found knowledge, we’re going to work closely with KISCOL (Kwale International Sugar Company) to improve water management. We’re also working with other companies to pilot the river monitoring system we saw used in South Africa. And we’re identifying small-scale farmers that can work with as champions of good water management in Kenya.

The UK government’s announcement to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040 sparked a lot of questions. So we’ve set out to explain why electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the environment, how they work, and how more of them on the road might affect you. What difference would replacing all cars with electric cars […]

]]>The UK government’s announcement to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040 sparked a lot of questions. So we’ve set out to explain why electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the environment, how they work, and how more of them on the road might affect you.

What difference would replacing all cars with electric cars really make?

The Committee on Climate Change estimate that if 60% of new cars on the road were electric by 2030, it would save 26 million tonnes of CO2. The UK government just announced a ban on the sale of new petrol-diesel cars and vans by 2040, but we think they can do better than that, which is why we’re calling for 100% of new cars to be electric by 2030.

EVs are not only good for the environment; they also produce no nitrogen dioxide, which is the main air pollutant in the UK affecting people’s health. Fully electric cars don’t even have exhaust pipes, and plug-in hybrids can and should run on zero-emission electric mode as far as possible, especially in places where air pollution poses a risk to people and nature. The one area where EVs don’t help much is with air pollution caused by tyres. This is one reason why public transport, car clubs, walking and cycling are also essential for reducing overall car use and tackling air pollution.

EVs still have to consume power – isn’t that power generated by fossil fuels?

EVs have a much lower carbon footprint than conventional cars. The electric motors they run on are around 3-4 times more efficient than internal combustion engines (which power petrol and diesel cars). Even when you factor in producing and transmitting electricity, electric motors are still around 60% more efficient. This means EVs would reduce carbon emissions even running on the electricity mix we have today – and their benefit will only increase as we phase out fossil fuels.

Where are the charging points for all these electric cars? And what if a household has two or three cars?

Right now there are rapid charging points at 96% of motorway service areas and thousands more in towns and cities. More charge points will eventually be needed as EV numbers increase, but this can be included in smart infrastructure planning.

For households, it’s probably not necessary to have multiple charge points, because you’re unlikely to need to charge your car every day unless you have a really, really long commute (and no workplace charging). And if you’re really stuck you can even charge up using a normal three-pin plug – although it will take a lot longer.

But electric cars can’t travel long distances, can they?

Actually, they can. Fully electric cars can do up to 300 miles on a single charge, compared to a maximum of 100 miles just a few years ago. And plug-in hybrid cars can travel up to 800 miles. Analysts expect EV ranges to keep on increasing in the coming years.

Of course, better batteries do mean more expensive cars. But if you have an EV at the lower end of the range and you’re planning a long drive, all you need to factor in is a half hour pit stop to charge up at a motorway service station.

What if the extra demand from EVs means more nuclear power generation, or increases fracking?

The main factor to consider here is when EVs are charged. If everyone in the country had an EV and they all charged it at the same time, we’d have a problem! But it’s easy to set EVs to charge at times when we have plenty of spare energy available. For example, at lunchtime when it’s sunniest or overnight when it’s windiest.

What about all the batteries these electric cars will produce – aren’t they bad for the environment?

It is important to make sure EV production, especially batteries, is done in the most sustainable way possible. There are no silver bullets to reducing our climate impact – all technologies have issues that must be managed, even renewables. While it is crucial to ensure sustainable production, the evidence points to an overwhelming environmental benefit from EVs, so we are comfortable supporting EVs as part of a broader vision of sustainable societies.

The exciting thing about EV batteries is that instead of being thrown away, they can be repurposed for use in people’s homes to store energy. This could enable homes with rooftop solar, for example, to have electricity bills close to zero. With the first generation of EVs soon to retire from UK roads, we can expect to see more and more homes giving these batteries a second life.

How are we going to recycle or get rid of the millions of petrol and diesel cars currently on the road?

Nobody is talking about replacing all petrol and diesel cars overnight. A ban on the sale of new petrol-diesel cars would mean car owners keeping their old cars as long as they normally would, replacing them with an EV only when it’s time to get a new car. As with all government policy, it’s important to ensure that the EV revolution is fairly funded and that costs and benefits fall to the right people. The UK government currently offers grants towards the purchase of EVs and home charge point installation.

A scrappage scheme, on the other hand, would focus only on a small number of the most polluting diesel cars. As with any product at the end of its useful life, as many components as possible should be reused or recycled, and the residual waste disposed of responsibly.

Why aren’t WWF looking at hydrogen as an alternative to petrol or diesel?

We are. Hydrogen has many benefits, and emits no CO2 or air pollution in use. However, it also has some big unanswered questions, the main one being: how will we produce all the hydrogen we need? In brief, it’s pretty cheap to produce hydrogen in dirty, carbon-intensive ways, but at the moment it’s expensive to produce it in a clean, renewable way.

So we’re definitely not ruling it out, but it hasn’t quite matured into a sustainable, viable option yet. EVs have, which is why they are the technology we’re focusing on.

What about people living in rural areas who rely on cars? How will they get enough charging points – and can EVs handle off-road or mountainous terrain?

Rural areas probably won’t need as many public charge points as urban areas, because rural homes are more likely to have off-street parking than urban areas, so rural residents are more likely to be able to charge their car at home (which is the cheaper option).

The shift to EVs is a fundamental step change, not just a fad. We cannot predict the future, so we cannot definitively say that other technologies (such as hydrogen fuel cells) won’t make a major breakthrough and overtake EVs. But on current market trends this looks unlikely.

The advent of driverless cars has the potential to fundamentally transform our transport system – but they still need energy to work! In our view, that energy should be electricity. A petrol or diesel driverless car would be an anachronism, like using a rotary dial telephone to communicate with a space station.

Rivers in England are running dry and wildlife is suffering, but no one has come close to mentioning a drought. What’s going on? Is this a footpath meandering under an old bridge? I’m afraid not. It’s actually a river – the River Quin in Hertfordshire in spring this year. And plenty of other rivers have […]

Is this a footpath meandering under an old bridge? I’m afraid not. It’s actually a river – the River Quin in Hertfordshire in spring this year. And plenty of other rivers have looked like this for periods this spring and early summer: the River Rib in Hertfordshire, the Chess in Buckinghamshire, the River Colne in London and many more. Is this what you expect your local river to look like under normal conditions?

The problems facing our local rivers

It’s true that parts of the country haven’t seen much rain, despite some heavy downpours. 2016/2017 was a particularly dry winter and if the dry weather continues into the autumn, we may find ourselves on the cusp of an official drought in the south east.

But right now water is coming out of my taps just fine and I’ve not heard any mention of a hosepipe ban. I wonder what the fish in the River Quin think about that? Perhaps they should move to my local paddling pool?

Dry spells and drought are likely to become more frequent because of climate change. But, before we blame everything on the weather and climate change, I want to highlight the underlying problem. In many parts of the country we’re pumping more water out of our rivers than can be naturally replenished and we’re using water wastefully. Meanwhile national regulations around water use are insufficient to stop our rivers drying up.

Why rivers need protecting

WWF’s recent report Water for Wildlife: tackling drought and unsustainable abstraction brings attention to this crisis. It looks at the scale of over-abstraction from rivers and how the current approach to preventing damage by abstraction is taking too long. It also considers how wildlife is suffering and how many people are concerned by the current state of affairs.

Here are the key findings:

24% of rivers in England are at risk from too much water being abstracted.

Low river flows affect the whole river ecosystem, from the smallest bug to the biggest fish.

At the current rate of progress, it could be 2050 before today’s damage is addressed.

68% of people are worried about the impact on the environment of taking too much water from rivers.

Over 80% of people agree the Government should do more to encourage homes and businesses to be more water efficient.

Rivers aren’t just important for wildlife, they’re also important to people, to us. They help us connect to the natural world. We like to walk and picnic by rivers, let our children paddle and our dogs swim in rivers. We use rivers for fishing and boating, and thriving, flowing rivers also bring many economic benefits.

What WWF are calling for

We must restore our rivers before it is too late. As well as working with our colleagues in Blueprint and supporting the Blueprint for PR19 campaign, at WWF we’re calling on the Government to urgently address how we’re managing water. In addition we want water companies to think about alternative ways of meeting water needs in their 2020-2025 business plans.

Specifically, we’re asking for:

A national strategy to cut water waste. This should include engaging the public about the value of water, making every home and business water efficient, and making paying for water fairer through universal water metering

A revised process for dealing with abstraction licences that are already causing damage to habitats and wildlife. This would include support for water companies and other abstractors, such as farmers and businesses, to enable them to cope with potential reductions in the amount of water they’re able to abstract from rivers

Environmental limits on all water abstractions, to ensure there is enough water for wildlife in every river, and a mechanism to manage how reductions in abstraction are managed and shared across river catchment areas

Important European Legislation that protects rivers, such as the Water Framework Directive, to be fully transposed after Brexit.

What can the UK Government do?

The need for these changes have long been recognised by the Government. Their 2011 Water White Paper, Water for Life, promised new legislation to address over-abstraction and the 2013 paper, Making the Most of Every Drop, set out the Government’s abstraction reform proposals.

But Brexit has put pressure on parliamentary time and these urgent reforms seem to have been kicked into the long grass. We strongly urge the new government to reconsider and push water management up the agenda. We also want water companies to set out how they will sustainably manage abstraction in their next round of business plans, before we stumble across more lost rivers.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/habitats/rivers-freshwater/englands-rivers-gone/feed/0Electric vehicles – which country is leading the charge?http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/electric-vehicles-country-leading-charge/
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Barely two months into his presidency, French president Emmanuel Macron continues to throw down the gauntlet on tackling climate change. Having banned new oil and gas exploration, his government has now set 2050 as the year by which France will be carbon neutral. This is genuine ambition, announced as 19 world leaders lined up against […]

Petrol & diesel ban

The overall ambition isn’t what made the headlines here. Rather it was the promise to ban sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. To UK ears, that sounds a big deal. Despite burgeoning air quality problems and greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles rising, the UK government has so far been unable to get to grips with transport emissions, and unwilling to take radical action on vehicle pollution. Ending the internal combustion engine era in just two decades might sound, therefore, quite the leap. But is it actually that challenging?

India has made a similar commitment by 2030—a full decade earlier; the Netherlands and Norway by 2025. France has around 18 times the motor vehicles per capita of India, although India almost certainly has more vehicles than France, in real terms. Netherlands and Norway are much smaller, albeit with similar per capita levels to the French; but with 7 per cent and 29 per cent market share for electric vehicles (including hybrids) respectively, they’re starting from higher bases than France’s 1.5 per cent.

UK commitments

What of the UK? Well, we’ve signed up to an international grouping called the International Zero Emissions Vehicle Alliance (ZEV Alliance), along with Germany (1m electric vehicles (EVs) on its roads by 2020), Norway, the Netherlands and several Canadian and US states—including California & New York. Although that involves only a fairly vague commitment to phasing out non-electric vehicles by 2050, the government has made stronger noises recently.

The UK Industrial Strategy references EVs in relation to smart power grids as well as the role of the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV). OLEV is a government body which, among other things, is supporting cities around the UK to test out infrastructure changes to encourage the transition from fossil fuel vehicles.

The Queen’s Speech, otherwise fairly light on non-brexit legislation, included an “automated and electric vehicles bill”. This is to deliver a manifesto promise to “lead the world in electric vehicle technology and use,” ensuring “world-class infrastructure which supports the rapid adoption and use of electric vehicles.” The manifesto repeated the ZEV Alliance commitment for “almost every car and van to be zero-emission by 2050,” and the government has committed £600m this parliament to grow the market for ultra-low emission vehicles. One of the bill measures will require all motorway service stations to install rapid charging—which elicited the following response from Ecotricity founder, Dale Vince, whose company has largely delivered this already…

We need more ambition

At WWF, we don’t think the UK is ambitious enough. BP forecasts that there will be 100m EVs globally by 2035 (against 1.2m in 2015) and Bloomberg project that they’ll account for over half of all new car sales by 2040—becoming cheaper than internal combustion cars in most countries by the middle of the next decade. We’d like 100 per cent of new UK car and van sales to be ultra-low emission by 2030 at the latest. Battery prices are plummeting, air pollution is estimated to claim 40,000 lives a year here, and our transport emissions are rising. And it’s not as if car manufacturers are resisting—as Volvo led the way last week with a commitment that all of their new car sales would be electric or hybrid from 2019!

But, as with France and India, it needs a step-change, not just encouragement; market share now is just 1.4 per cent. The government must target its £600m (and probably more) on incentives for people to switch—including a radical approach to getting diesel vehicles off our roads soonest. It also needs to be imaginative in support for the roll-out of smart charging infrastructure—particularly in towns and cities, where it’s harder to charge vehicles at home. The sooner we do it, the sooner we reap the benefits. That’s not just in terms of cleaner air and tackling climate change, but industrial benefits to our car industry and the jobs it supports—jobs in some of the parts of the UK that could most do with seeing the benefits of growth.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/electric-vehicles-country-leading-charge/feed/0After the UK General Election, what does the next government need to do for the environment?http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/government/governments-environmental-to-do-list-post-election/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/government/governments-environmental-to-do-list-post-election/#commentsFri, 09 Jun 2017 09:27:00 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=23903

So, an election campaign that most had expected to deliver an increased Conservative majority ends in a hung parliament, and a Conservative government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party. Those in the business of predicting poll results might be better reading tea leaves for inspiration, but amid the shock, what does this all mean for […]

]]>So, an election campaign that most had expected to deliver an increased Conservative majority ends in a hung parliament, and a Conservative government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party. Those in the business of predicting poll results might be better reading tea leaves for inspiration, but amid the shock, what does this all mean for the environment, and for WWF’s priorities?

Regardless of the uncertainty in Westminster, urgent steps are needed to protect the environment.

Ahead of the General Election, WWF highlighted to all the parties what their priorities should be for the coming five years. Thank you to everyone who joined your voices with ours. Politicians need to hear from all corners and all walks of life how important protecting our environment is, and a collective call is stronger. We focused on three broad areas where we believe the UK government can have the most impact:

Global leadership on climate change, and the domestic plans to cut carbon emissions that are essential to back that up at home;

A long-term plan for the environment, which should tackle our footprint abroad, as well as improving how we protect our own wildlife and habitats; and

Action against the illegal wildlife trade that poses a huge threat to populations of iconic species including elephants, rhinos and tigers.

With the Conservatives returning to office at Westminster, we now expect Theresa May and her ministerial team to set out – as a matter of urgency – what they will do in each of these areas. The Queen’s Speech that is expected to open the new Parliament on 19 June is likely to focus on delivering Brexit, through the Great Repeal Bill that we are told will ensure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law.

WWF and other groups will need to be vigilant to ensure that, when those laws are brought across, they cannot be repealed or changed by Ministers at the stroke of a pen and without proper scrutiny by Parliament, but there are plenty of other things the UK government needs to be thinking about besides the Repeal Bill.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris

President Trump’s recent baffling decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement – in the face of global public opinion and overwhelming scientific evidence – puts even greater onus on the remaining 190-plus parties to that Agreement, including the UK, to step up their ambition. That means the next government must press ahead with producing a plan to reduce UK emissions and drive clean growth, including setting ambitious targets for energy efficiency, ultra-low emissions transport and a range of renewables.

The Conservative General Election manifesto reaffirmed the UK government’s pre-election pledges to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, and to produce a comprehensive 25 Year Environment Plan. These are strong and ambitious commitments, but once again we need the government to get on with producing that long-awaited plan, and setting out clear milestones for how it will deliver. With last year’s Living Planet Report highlighting the crisis facing the world’s wildlife, the 25 YearPlan should have a strong international dimension, addressing our environmental footprint in other countries.

Speaking of global responsibility, the new government must maintain UK leadership on the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) as we head towards next year’s expected London Conference on that issue. While the UK has made more money available to tackle IWT, and the Conservative manifesto promised conservation cooperation with international bodies to protect rare species, the 2015 commitment to press for a ban on UK ivory sales was missing from the 2017 manifesto. We hope this lack of a reference to ivory trade doesn’t indicate any reduction in commitment, and we will be working with allies across the parties at Westminster to press the government to produce its previously promised consultation on this issue as quickly as possible. The UK must get its own house in order on the IWT if it is to be a credible leader in London next year.

So there’s plenty in the new government’s in-tray besides Brexit. A week may be a long time in politics – in fact 24 hours is starting to seem like an eternity in these unpredictable times – but in environmental terms the period of this new government will be a short but critical time in which the UK must show real leadership, turn around wildlife declines and help put the world firmly on the path to a low carbon future.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/government/governments-environmental-to-do-list-post-election/feed/1Picturing your life in 2030 – what do you see?http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/positive-vision/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/positive-vision/#respondThu, 08 Jun 2017 23:00:55 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=23911

Ever wondered what your home will look like years from now? Ever thought about how your local area might change? Or what you would want to keep the same? This is your chance to show us what’s important to you. We’re offering you the chance to win a signed David Attenborough book, a pair of […]

]]>Ever wondered what your home will look like years from now? Ever thought about how your local area might change? Or what you would want to keep the same? This is your chance to show us what’s important to you.

We’re offering you the chance to win a signed David Attenborough book, a pair of Lily Cole Veja trainers, WWF goody bag and a chance for your photographs to be exhibited at a WWF gallery. All we want to see is a picture of the countryside, city, community or home that you want to see protected from climate change for future generations to enjoy.

We’ve teamed up with people across Hampshire, West Sussex, Berkshire and Wiltshire to find out what they love and want to protect about their local area. We’ve met people across communities asking them about their visions of a climate resilient future. We now want you to get involved. We want to know what inspires you in the area you live in – what you love about the place you call home. We want to know what you hope to protect so others can continue to enjoy the things you do too for generations to come.

What’s your favourite view of the area that you call home?

We are asking people to gaze through four different lenses into 2030: their home, their community, their cities and their countryside. What do these things mean to you? Send us your favourite pictures in your local area – from the rolling hills of the countryside to your neighbours at the village fete, from the hustle and bustle of your nearest city to your own back garden. We want to see through your eyes why you live where you do.

We’ll be exhibiting some of the best pictures alongside professional art work and photography at an exhibition in Parliament in September. We’ll also be showcasing your stunning images on our Instagram and Twitter channels following the winner announcement!

How to enter

Entries will be accepted on Instagram and Twitter, and for us to receive your images you will need to include #PictureEngland and @wwf_uk in your caption. Make sure to add a description – what does your photo represent and what vision do you have for in the future? We’ll be letting the winners know via social media on Monday 10th July. Take a look at the terms and conditions for more information.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/positive-vision/feed/0How the US and the world are already defying Trump on Parishttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/how-the-us-and-the-world-are-defying-trump-on-paris/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/how-the-us-and-the-world-are-defying-trump-on-paris/#respondFri, 02 Jun 2017 07:12:11 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=23885

So, despite the efforts of world leaders, despite the case made by his own Secretary of State (a former fossil fuel company boss), his Defence Secretary and, we understand, his own daughter, and despite pleas from US businesses, Donald Trump is withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement. The fightback, however, is already on… Stepping […]

Stepping back from a leadership role on climate change, the US now joins Nicaragua and Syria – the two countries who chose not to sign up to Paris in the first place. This is bad news.

For the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases not to be part of international efforts to tackle climate change – when almost the rest of the planet has committed to try and keep warming to 1.5 degrees – is unconscionable. We should shake our heads, stamp our feet, shout and, obviously, tweet

But what will the impact really be? Can Trump really change the course of history on tackling climate change?

Companies

Huge energy (clean and fossil), food and tech companies have told Trump that the US should remain in the Paris deal– arguing both that it’s the right thing, and the economically sound thing to do. There are more US jobs in solar than coal, and some of the highest densities of investment and jobs in clean energy are in red states like Texas and Oklahoma. So if America backs away from investing in clean energy development to deliver on the Paris Agreement, what happens to those jobs and that investment?

Well, maybe it’s not such bad news for Americans. As the EU and China announce collaboration to fill the vacuum left by the US, are those companies really going to withdraw their investment and leave the way clear for Chinese and European companies to step in and reap the benefits and profits instead? I suspect not. And as it’s those investments that are needed to deliver on what was in Obama’s now-repealed Clean Power Plan, maybe the knock-on implications of Trump’s Paris pull-out are not so bad for the world either.

States and cities

Not just businesses – what of individual US states? Some of these are huge global actors in their own right. California, whose GDP would be in the world’s top ten if it were a nation and New York (which would be in the top 15), are leading the way in the US with ambitions to cut emissions by far more than the US committed to in its soon-to-be-obsolete Paris contribution. If states stick to their plans, as they’ve said they intend to, then is a US withdrawal from Paris such bad news? This is especially so given how many US cities express similar commitments, their mayors joining colleagues from cities all over the world to express global leadership on climate change.

Public support

What’s more, these companies, states and cities are supported by the American people: 70% believe climate change is happening and 53% believe that it’s caused by humans – despite what they’re told by some of their politicians. Two thirds of Americans want their president and congress to do more to tackle it, and 69% of them (including nearly half of Trump voters) believe that staying in the Paris Agreement is part of that.

Climate change is happening and its effects can be seen all over the world. The science is clear about its cause and we know what action we need to tackle it. 197 parties signed up to Paris, committing to that action; 196 will stay signed up – most, no doubt, very happy to work with US citizens, companies, states and cities to deliver on it.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/how-the-us-and-the-world-are-defying-trump-on-paris/feed/0Action as well as targets needed for Scotland’s new Climate Billhttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/science-policy/action-well-targets-needed-scotlands-new-climate-bill/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/science-policy/action-well-targets-needed-scotlands-new-climate-bill/#commentsThu, 04 May 2017 08:29:26 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=23782

Last month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met with the Governor of California – the world’s sixth largest economy – to sign an agreement that strengthens clean energy ties and mutual resolve to deliver strong climate action in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. It was good to be reminded that, in spite of […]

]]>Last month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met with the Governor of California – the world’s sixth largest economy – to sign an agreement that strengthens clean energy ties and mutual resolve to deliver strong climate action in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.

It was good to be reminded that, in spite of the recent roll back of US federal action to cut carbon, the clean energy transition is inevitable and unstoppable. Cities, states, companies and communities around the world are increasingly embracing clean energy solutions and the benefits they bring to citizens, such as warmer homes, cleaner air and high quality jobs.

The Scottish Government is itself preparing to push forward with stronger efforts to build a thriving zero-carbon economy with a new Climate Change Bill in the pipeline, designed to implement the Paris Agreement. This will involve setting more ambitious long-term goals to limit temperature change to 1.5oC to protect the world’s most vulnerable people, places and species. To make good on collective Paris commitments, the new Bill must aim for Scotland to no longer contribute to global climate change by 2050 at the latest, balancing any remaining emissions from agriculture and food production with removing carbon from the atmosphere by, for instance, tree planting or new technologies. This would be particularly symbolic in the heartland of the industrial revolution.

But setting new goals, however stretching, is never an end in itself. It’s the action to deliver on them that really counts. And that’s where Scotland has been falling short. Certainly, amazing progress has been made to expand our renewable electricity sector, where records continue to be set, but we’re still lagging behind on renewable heat and particularly on clean transport. As the Scottish Government’s statutory climate advisors, the Committee on Climate Change, recently emphasised, stronger action and new carbon cutting policies are needed just to hit existing legal climate targets, let alone more stringent ones foreseen in the new legislation.

The Scottish Government’s recent draft Climate Change Plan should have been the opportunity to set out a clear pathway for slashing emissions and building a thriving green economy, but four cross-party Committees of the Scottish Parliament recently found the Plan fell remarkably short on new policy action and lacked credibility in key areas. There is still time to put this right in the final Plan but the forthcoming legislation provides a chance to enshrine some of the most critical policy changes we need to see to ensure that we deliver on Paris and that no sector is left behind to miss out on the economic, social and environmental benefits of strong climate action.

Alongside setting a clear trajectory to reach net zero, the Bill needs to ensure that the Scottish Budget is ‘climate proofed’ – that policies like energy efficiency receive enough funding and that we’re not locking ourselves into projects that will increase our emissions in the long-run. It also needs to put in place tools to ensure that our homes are made warm and cosy, insulated to an Energy Performance rating of C over the next decade, which will create thousands of jobs across Scotland, reduce fuel poverty and save the NHS tens of millions every year.

Equally, the Bill needs to act on cleaner transport for all by 2030 so that people in Scotland can reap the air quality and other benefits of phasing out fossil fuel vehicles that Norway is already beginning to enjoy as it aims for 100% of new car sales to be electric by 2025. And finally, the Bill needs to ensure we help farmers to reduce their emissions and their costs through careful budgeting of their fertiliser use.

The first Scottish Climate Change Act was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament in 2009 and fighting climate change is one area where there continues to be a huge amount of consensus across party lines. The Scottish Government should now bring forward a new Climate Bill that gives MSPs from across the Parliament the opportunity to set out their ideas for win-win policies and genuinely world-leading targets. These will drive Scotland more quickly towards reaping the huge health, social, and economic benefits of the zero-carbon future that the Paris Agreement requires.

Last Month, WWF led the world in marking the Earth Hour; the world’s biggest environmental event, organized in all continents to create understanding on the issues facing the planet and inspiring people to live more sustainably. While the world was marking the event, here in at WWF in Kwale, Kenya, we were busy putting this […]

]]>Last Month, WWF led the world in marking the Earth Hour; the world’s biggest environmental event, organized in all continents to create understanding on the issues facing the planet and inspiring people to live more sustainably.

While the world was marking the event, here in at WWF in Kwale, Kenya, we were busy putting this idea into practice – training rural communities to cook with a new type of energy efficient stoves.

Most households in Kenya use traditional cook stoves which are of low efficiency meaning most of energy is lost, hence more firewood are required. This translates to large areas of forests being cleared to meet the demand.

The new technology, known as Jiko Banifu, is more efficient, easy to adopt and costs much less.

Our new stoves cost much less than the previous type. A stove for a family of five members will now costs just 15 US dollars compared to 40 dollars with the old model. It also reduces firewood consumption by 50%.

What makes the stoves even more incredible is that they’re constructed by the local community, using locally available materials. This means there’s the potential to quickly replicate this approach in other rural villages.

We’ve trained 18 community members to become local level trainers. In total, 640 local people and 3 primary schools (with total of 650 pupils) have benefitted from this initiative so far. The target is to hit 1500 community members by June 2017.

There’s lots of work still to be done to cover the target communities and schools, we are committed to ensure this is achieved as planned.

Managing the demand for wood fuel

Of course, it’s not just about how the wood is used in homes. We need to make sure that forests don’t suffer because people are taking too much wood for fuel.

Extraction of wood fuel – for use in homes and businesses – has risen in recent years.

There’s a lack of county based regulation which allows illegal extraction to take place. This has left the areas degraded and contributed to poverty.

In the nearby Kilifi area, we’ve been working with Kilifi County Natural Resources Network and the county government to improve how forests are managed.

New regulations, currently under development, are a step in the right direction, and should help control woodfuel businesses. But of course more will need to be done to enforce the new rules to help protect the forests, their wildlife, and local communities.

WWF’s work in Kwale-Kilifi landscape is part of WWF’s Coastal Kenya Programme, which is gratefully supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, Size of Wales and the UK Government through the Department for International Development.

]]>http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/habitats/efficient-new-stoves-helping-kenya-protect-threatened-forests/feed/2Changed Arctic, changed worldhttp://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/changed-arctic-changed-world/
http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/climate-energy/changed-arctic-changed-world/#respondTue, 25 Apr 2017 16:53:46 +0000http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/?p=23737The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, and it is likely that many people alive today will see the end of the Arctic as we know it. This is the latest word from scientists, revealed in a report released today. The Arctic Council’s ‘Snow Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic’ […]

]]>The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, and it is likely that many people alive today will see the end of the Arctic as we know it. This is the latest word from scientists, revealed in a report released today.

Its stark conclusions confirm that over the past 50 years, the Arctic’s temperature has risen by more than twice the global average, and that the region is being forced to shift into a new state – one that may see an ice-free Arctic Ocean by as early as the late 2030s. The primary underlying cause is increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.

WWF Climate Expert Martin Sommerkorn on implications for the Arctic and the world.

Changes of this scale in the Arctic have implications worldwide, even as far as the Southern Hemisphere.

New modelling pegs the minimum increase in sea levels at more than half a metre by 2100, much of it due to melting ice from Arctic glaciers. There is also increasing evidence that changes in the Arctic are interfering with established weather patterns elsewhere in the world, such as the Southeast Asian monsoon.

The report says that even before 2050, a 4-5 degree temperature rise above late 1900 levels is “locked in” by existing greenhouse gases and by heat held in oceans.

Rod Downie, WWF Polar Programme Manager, said, “The arctic is in meltdown and it’s clear that it will continue to change significantly within our lifetime. Sea ice decline and increased arctic temperatures are expected to have significant impacts on arctic wildlife such as polar bears, seals, whales as well as fish, and the people who rely on them. It’s bad news for people across the globe as sea levels rise and weather patterns change because of drastic changes in the arctic.”

Visualizing Greenland’s ice melt

What does this mean for the Arctic now?

Shrinking sea ice mans a shrinking range for some seals, walrus and polar bears, while on land vast boreal forests will experience an increase in forest fires and insect pests, and permafrost will continue to thaw, making food more difficult to access for grazing animals such as caribou and muskoxen.

This news is a glaring alarm bell that must be heeded if we are to preserve not only the Arctic, but the global climate systems that we know and rely upon.

Yet there is some hope embedded in the report’s modelling. Despite the many changes already underway or projected, some of which appear irreversible (such as thawing permafrost and melting of the Greenland ice sheet), climate models show that a scenario roughly equivalent to that under the Paris Agreement would slow or stop some trends.

Hope for the future

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stabilising concentrations in line with the Paris Agreement could stabilise the Arctic environment after mid-century, although this stable state would still make the Arctic a warmer, wetter, less icy place.

But even that degree of stabilisation would require much larger cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions than those planned under current nationally determined contributions.

Commenting on this, Downie said, “To stabilise the Arctic will require more emissions cuts than are currently pledged. We need to urgently tackle climate change head-on by drastically reducing carbon emissions and embracing clean energy solutions.”

The Arctic has already changed irreparably for the span of our lifetimes. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will make a difference, but only if we make the Paris Agreement the baseline of our collective ambitions, and build on and strengthen existing commitment. If we can achieve this, we may still be able to retrieve the Arctic for our children.

For me, Emperor penguins are the iconic Antarctic species. When I first saw them on the ice, I was struck by their serene grace and intricate beauty. Delicate gold patches adorn their chest like an artist’s brushstroke against their otherwise black and white plumage. No other species is so perfectly adapted to survive in the […]

]]>For me, Emperor penguins are the iconic Antarctic species. When I first saw them on the ice, I was struck by their serene grace and intricate beauty. Delicate gold patches adorn their chest like an artist’s brushstroke against their otherwise black and white plumage.

No other species is so perfectly adapted to survive in the most extreme and remote place on earth. They inspire me.

So let me share my top 10 facts about the Emperors of the Antarctic.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Emperor penguins are only found in Antarctica in the wild. They breed and raise their young mostly on ‘fast ice’, a floating platform of frozen ocean which is connected to the land or to ice shelves. From birth, they spend their entire lives in and around the Antarctic ice, although very rarely vagrants have turned up off the coast of New Zealand. Somebody took a wrong turn!

Giants of the Penguin World

Emperors are the biggest of the 18 species of penguin found today, and one of the largest of all birds. They are approximately 120cm tall (about the height of a seven year old child) and weigh in at around 40kg, though their weight does fluctuate through the year.

But they would be dwarfed by the ancient ‘mega-penguins’. Fossils recovered from the Antarctic Peninsula reveal that a colossus species of penguin which lived about 37 million years ago may have stood 2m tall and weighed as much as 115 kg. Wow!

Penguins from Space

Emperor penguin colonies have been discovered and counted from space. A survey led by British scientists in 2012 used satellite technology to identify emperor colonies from the poo stains left on the ice at breeding sites. They discovered a number of previously unvisited colonies and counted every individual penguin. In there are now thought to be around 54 Emperor colonies in the Antarctic. About half of these have been discovered by satellite survey and most of these remain unvisited.

Penguin Love

Emperors incubate their eggs during the long dark southern winter months. Courtship displays are intricate but copulation is quick (well- it is cold!) and the female lays a single egg in May [or June]. She then passes it over to her mate to incubate- and she’s off ! She spends the next nine weeks at sea, feeding.

The male carefully balances the egg on his feet for between 65 – 75 days to keep it warm in a specially adapted brood pouch , and off the snow surface, before it hatches. Then out pops a fluffy chick.

‘Baby, its cold outside’

Emperors are uniquely adapted to survive these harsh conditions when temperatures can drop down to a bone chilling -50°C and with winds of up to 200km/hr. They have two layers of feathers, a good reserve of fat and proportionally smaller beaks and flippers than other penguins to prevent heat loss. Emperors also have feathers on their legs, so their ankles don’t get too chilly.

Even their feet are adapted to the icy conditions, containing special fats that prevent them from freezing and strong claws for gripping the ice.

But most remarkably, colonies of adults and chicks work together to huddle for warmth. Over 5,000 tightly packed adults and chicks shuffle around, so each takes a turn- but not too long- on the outside of the huddle where it’s cold. This is in complete contrast to their quarrelsome and territorial neighbours, the Adélie penguins.

Dive, dive dive!

Emperor penguins are the Olympic divers of the bird world. The deepest recorded dive was 564 m – that’s the equivalent of nearly 2 x the height of the Shard, Europe’s tallest building. And the longest recorded dive was nearly 28 minutes. That’s incredible!

Fish Suppers

Emperors feed mostly on Antarctic silverfish as well as other species of fish , krill (like Will and Bill from Happy Feet) and some squid. An adult penguin eats about 2-3 kg per day, but on a good day they can eat twice this much to build up their store of body fat for the long winter, or for feeding their chicks.

…and Crash Diets

Male emperor penguins will not eat for up to four months, from the time they arrive at the colony to breed until the egg has hatched and the mother returns to feed. They lose almost half of their body weight during this time. They need to rely entirely on the reserve of body fat that they built up during the summer feast to survive the long winter.

Vertical Limits

Emperor penguins can climb steep ice cliffs and have been known to breed up on ice-shelves, if the sea ice below fails. In 2013, British and Australian scientists discovered two emperor penguin colonies on ice shelves at Barrier Bay and Larsen C, with a further two temporary colonies on the Shackleton and Nickerson ice shelves. This may be a useful adaptation strategy as Antarctica warms due to climate change, but it might not help them in the long term, if warming continues.

How you can help penguins

In 2014, WWF supported scientists from the British Antarctic Survey to undertake the first British-led field studies on emperor penguins in almost 60 years. In order to protect penguin habitat in Antarctica and to tackle climate change, we need your help. Please adopt a penguin through WWF.

Eleanor Walker, teacher at Victoria Park Primary School in Bristol ignites the passion in her pupils and her colleagues on all things eco. Actually winning the Green Ambassador award was amazing! It was fantastic for some of my green team to come along to support me, to meet other ‘green’ schools and to celebrate all […]

]]>Eleanor Walker, teacher at Victoria Park Primary School in Bristol ignites the passion in her pupils and her colleagues on all things eco.

Actually winning the Green Ambassador award was amazing! It was fantastic for some of my green team to come along to support me, to meet other ‘green’ schools and to celebrate all their hard work; I wouldn’t have been in a position to win the award without their enthusiasm to inspire me over the last few years – they really are a force for good.

Before I became a teacher I was a park ranger where I did lots of conservation work and environmental education. I had always hoped I could fuse the two careers somehow and this award is proof that I was able to fulfil my dream. I was really proud to be nominated for the Green Ambassador (GA) Teacher Award. It was quite surreal to be nominated out of so many other teachers. Sustainability is not always a high priority in the school curriculum so I was really excited that WWF were recognizing and championing all the great ‘green’ work going on in schools.

Through my work with Bristol European Green Capital 2015, I was able to see firsthand how much work was going on in local schools to raise awareness of issues affecting the planet. It’s great that WWF are giving schools a platform to shout about all their work and encourage other schools to do the same through their GA programme and the Awards scheme.

The last few years at Victoria Park Primary have been a bit of a green whirlwind! We did a lot of work with the education team at Bristol European Green Capital 2015 including making a virtual fieldtrip film of a visit to a textile recycling factory. We were part of the Green Capital poster campaign and closing ceremony and also achieved our Eco Schools Green Flag award in 2016.

We have an amazing and inspirational green team at school which is made up of around twenty very enthusiastic Green Ambassadors. They chair their own meetings and are forever coming up with new ideas to raise the profile of sustainability in school. They are great classroom champions encouraging recycling and switching off lights and appliances and raising awareness of current affairs in the environmental sector. They have become a dab hand at writing and delivering topical assemblies in a very short time.

Our school building is on a concrete triangle near the centre of Bristol so we try to encourage all year groups to be creative and get out as much as possible to the local park and nature reserves. We have a ‘Community Day’ every year where year groups go out to undertake community projects such as litter picking, tree planting at the local city farm and planting beds with Incredible Edible .

We also work with our school caretaker to try and ‘green up’ the school grounds – the green team recently wrote to local landscape companies and had a donation of topsoil which meant we could apply for a Woodland Trust hedge pack to improve the playground for both children and wildlife.

The green team run a Shoe Swap every Friday after school where people can swap a pair of shoes they have grown out of or buy a pre-loved pair for £1.

Our most recent focus has been more ‘behind the scenes’ to truly embed sustainability through taking part in the Ashden Less CO2 programme, carrying out energy audits and improvements, making recycling systems more effective, exploring food waste in school and introducing ideas for our Philosophy for Children and Values work that people can use across the school.

We are also currently working with Bristol Pound, our local currency, to develop some curriculum resources to teach children the environmental and social values of a local currency.

We have been working hard to embed sustainability across our school curriculum without generating extra workload for staff. For example, tagging a Fairtrade lesson onto our Y4 chocolate topic, working with local charities like Avon Wildlife Trust to make an animation on the life cycle of eels as part of a topic on water; and using resources from locally based website: sustainablelearning.com to link with different subjects without having to reinvent the wheel.

Our school values tie in really well with sustainability so we can talk to children about kindness, responsibility, gratitude and respect towards the environment through daily life in school.

We have a school allotment and three year groups take part in our Forest School which takes place every week at our local park. One of our Teaching Assistant in each of Reception and Year one takes the children up in groups to explore the natural world in the local park. Our Reception class gets involved with the incubation and hatching process of chicks in the spring and we have whole school assemblies from FarmLink and other local trusts and charities.

We do a lot of Philosophy for Children in school which gives us the opportunity to discuss environmental issues. We also try to link it across the curriculum. For example, this year we had a Philosophy for Children and Maths day so Year 3 looked at the book ‘If the World Were a Village’ for maths and then spent the afternoon discussing equity and fairness.

I have always been passionate about the environment and am fortunate that Eco Schools is my curriculum responsibility so I can request non-contact time, which is an hour or two out of class so I can catch up. I work part time so it is hard to fit it in between everyday teaching. I meet the green team every fortnight after school where we develop ideas and work through our Action Plan.

I am part of a local Eco Schools network run by Sustainable Learning which meets regularly and provides brilliant support, quick win ideas, lesson plans, Eco Schools resources and details of local experts – which saves me a lot of time.

I have a very supportive ‘Eco Mum’ in school, Teaching Assistant’s and Eco Warriors in my class who help with tasks. Older children run their own monitoring, for example, we have Frankie Frog who is awarded to the ‘most eco class’ of the week in assembly. It can be very busy at times but it is really important to me to give children a well-rounded view of the world and to help them understand what they can do themselves to protect our planet and pass the message on to our wider community. It is also important that they can use their passions at such an early age to see the effects of their actions in our school community and hopefully amplify this as they move on to secondary school.

I am really lucky to work in an amazing school where I am fully supported by the head teacher and where the staff are so enthusiastic. I’m always open to trying new things and discussing new topics with the children to help them understand the world around them and see how they can make a difference.

Every new year, when I tell myself that I’m going to lose weight, drink less, or (this year) eat less meat, I know that it won’t happen on the basis of willpower alone. If I set rules – tell myself how I’m going to do it – then I’m much more likely actually to achieve […]

]]>Every new year, when I tell myself that I’m going to lose weight, drink less, or (this year) eat less meat, I know that it won’t happen on the basis of willpower alone. If I set rules – tell myself how I’m going to do it – then I’m much more likely actually to achieve something: so-many dry days or meat-free meals a week. If I don’t, it remains little more than a fond hope and best intentions.

This is also true of the UK government’s climate targets. The Climate Change Act is amongst the strongest climate change legislation in the world – and it’s hugely encouraging, as some of the noise from climate-change deniers grows more confident, that this government has signed up to the fifth carbon budget and ratified the Paris Agreement. It signals the best intentions, and comes on the back of significant achievements in deploying renewables (25% of electricity generation) and cutting emissions (down more than a third on 1990).

Missing targets

But the problem with those intentions is that we’re not actually on track to hit our carbon targets beyond the end of this decade – indeed, we might be as much as 25% adrift by 2025. The emissions reduction plan ought to be about how we meet the fifth carbon budget – running from 2028 to 2032. But if we’re that far out on the one before it, then we’re going to be way off by then. So, like the promises I make to myself at the start of the year, I fear for our intentions in the absence of a plan.

Unlike my new year’s resolutions, of course, the government’s commitments under the UK Climate Change Act are legal obligations (I’ve never yet secured a slot for primary legislation for my lifestyle improvements), and have rather more far-reaching implications. This is why we’re getting very anxious as we wait for the government’s emissions reduction plan. We expected it last year, but obviously brexit is consuming a lot of civil service and Ministerial capacity. We then expected it by the end of March, but still nothing. And we’re not the only ones; the plan is just as crucial to businesses in the UK’s growing low carbon sector; they want to know how the government will support them as they conquer the energy mainstream and drive down costs.

But let’s be fair, it’s a complex undertaking – not least the process for government officials in lining up agreement from their colleagues in other departments. The reason we’re worried about it is also, I guess, the reason why it’s taking so long: there really are some huge gaps to be bridged.

Cutting energy and costs in homes

Terrace houses, Shutterstock

First, we’re making no progress reducing emissions from buildings. Energy efficiency (things like insulating our lofts and walls) offer some of the cheapest and quickest emissions reductions, yet four out of five homes are below the recommended level of efficiency (EPC C) that would deliver on climate targets, keep us warm, and cut our bills. We need the UK Government to up its game and help create a market for energy improvements, using incentives and standards. As for new buildings – making them efficient and low carbon is a no-brainer; yet still we’re building homes that mean future generations will need to have the exact same conversation we’re having now about retrofitting to improve efficiency. But to make a real change, we have to invest as well in low carbon heating – electric heat pumps for homes currently using oil, and district heating in urban areas. This isn’t easy, not least because it involves local authorities as well as national government leadership and investment – but it is crucial.

Cleaner power

Next, the electricity sector: for all the phenomenal deployment of renewables, and the commitment to phase out coal by 2025, the job is far from done. Decarbonisation will grind to a halt and stagger over a cliff without clear continued commitment to new clean generation. Alongside the commitment to offshore wind, the UK government still needs to give clarity for investors in other, cheaper, technologies like solar and onshore wind as to whether will provide a way for them to sell their power to the market, and what support there will be for smaller-scale renewables. But it also means clear commitment to robust carbon pricing, which the flagging EU emissions trading system is still failing to deliver. Post-brexit, the UK could potentially lead the way in the UK with a new and stronger carbon market – and underpin it with a decarbonisation target for the electricity sector. Getting all of this right, and continuing to decarbonise power, will be essential if we’re to tap the benefits of cleaner and more efficient electric transport and heating.

Planes, trains and automobiles

And thirdly, transport, where emissions are actually going up! The commitment in the industrial strategy to accelerating the development of electric vehicles is welcome. But the UK government still has a significant job to do to if we’re to phase out conventional crop biofuels, replacing them instead with sustainable waste-based fuels for aviation, shipping and freight. So, knowing that emissions are already going the wrong way, and then announcing a commitment to build a third runway at Heathrow… This drives the proverbial coach and horses – flies an Airbus A380 – through the fifth carbon budget. Expansion in aviation emissions only makes targets harder to reach, and puts more pressure on the other sectors to decarbonise.

All of which is why we’re anxious to see and to influence an ambitious and clear emissions reduction plan. As the millions who took part in WWF’s Earth Hour on 25 March showed, people want action on climate change: two thirds of the public are clear that climate change is happening and is caused by humans; 80% and 73% respectively worry about harm to wildlife and increased flooding as a result.

We need a plan for tackling those problems – a plan for reducing emissions – and we need it now. This is urgent.

Geologists, biologists, physicists, oceanographers, meteorologist, paleoclimatologists…. some are familiar titles, and some sound like something out of a sci-fi movie. But these are all professions at the leading edge of science, the tool of curiosity, creativity and discovery that began with humanity trying to understand the world we live in, and now has the power […]

]]>Geologists, biologists, physicists, oceanographers, meteorologist, paleoclimatologists…. some are familiar titles, and some sound like something out of a sci-fi movie. But these are all professions at the leading edge of science, the tool of curiosity, creativity and discovery that began with humanity trying to understand the world we live in, and now has the power to dramatically shape our world.

Scientists of every calling – and thousands more people who don’t have “-ologist” in their job title, but support an evidence-based approach to improving understanding – will join the March for Science all around the world on Earth Day (22 April). In the UK there are marches in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester and Norwich.

The March for Science is about showing passion for science and calling for support to safeguard the scientific community. This is important at a time when verifiable facts are competing with “alternative facts”, evidence with assertion, and experts are being undermined by ideology.

How did we get to this?

We have scientists to thank for many of the discoveries and inventions that enhance our lives today. Since Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin on a lump of mould accidentally growing on a petri dish in 1928, antibiotics have saved countless human lives – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for medical developments over the past century.

Science doesn’t just affect human lives. Our understanding of the world has grown in leaps and bounds since Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection in 1859, after observing finches in the Galapagos Islands. Natural selection – often described as “survival of the fittest” – has informed the way we view the world around us. We know how species responded to changes in the environment over millennia, and we now know that the changes we’re witnessing in our climate may threaten the ability of the natural world to adapt fast enough.

Of course, it was the industrial revolution – fuelled by scientific discoveries, and powered by coal-fired steam – that benefited many but that we now know has brought the changes in our atmosphere which affect and threaten the lives of many people and species. But science, and the evidence-based foundation of science, may yet provide solutions.

Solutions in Science

It is science that gives us the evidence we need to confidently say that global climate change is already happening. Observations show that temperatures are rising and that this rise can only be fully explained when emissions from humans burning fossil fuels and natural factors are added together.

Everyone has heard of Albert Einstein, but did you know that he won his Nobel Prize nearly a century ago for his work on the photoelectric effect? His discovery is crucial to how solar panels work: sunlight hits the panel, the photoelectric effect occurs and electricity is produced. Science is now fuelling the renewable-energy revolution, and helping wean humanity off our dependence on dirty fossil fuels.

Citizen Science

You don’t have to be Einstein to contribute to science. “Citizen science” involves members of the public collecting and analysing data relating to the natural world. Two examples are the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network – a UK-wide initiative and WWF’s Climate Crowd which crowdsources human responses to climate change which are then uploaded to the website.

Science and politics

Science and politics must work hand in hand. It is only through listening to what the science tells us that politicians can put the nations they lead on a path towards limiting global temperatures. Politicians who deny the science, who reject data when it does not fit ideology, are jeopardising the future of our planet. So while the politics may change, the science keeps saying the same thing – that climate change is happening and that we need to act to address it.

Science was a driving force behind the Paris Agreement, the international treaty to address climate change, and science will be responsible for providing many of the answers to how we tackle climate change.

Why WWF supports the march

As an organisation which values scientific research and uses evidence to underpin our conservation efforts, WWF supports the March for Science.

It is imperative that we continue to celebrate and, when necessary, defend science at all levels. This is what taking part in the March for Science means; standing up for better policy, better understanding, better quality of life, and a better future for the planet.

Science encourages us to question and helps form the world that we live in today, and it has opened the door to so many improvements. One of the joys of science is that there are still so many things to discover, but right now one thing is standing out clearly: we have only a small window of time in which to act to tackle climate change. We must act urgently, decisively, and in unity for our future.

Well it’s been a pretty significant few weeks. Nine months after the vote on EU membership, the war of words is over and the formal exit proceedings have started. It’s quite the moment for reflection, when you realise just how many of us were born into Britain the European Union member state – or were […]

]]>Well it’s been a pretty significant few weeks. Nine months after the vote on EU membership, the war of words is over and the formal exit proceedings have started. It’s quite the moment for reflection, when you realise just how many of us were born into Britain the European Union member state – or were too young in 1973 to remember what came before.

But actually, what’s much more important now is the job ahead of us – to focus on what we need to keep and what we must worry about losing as we leave the EU. The past fortnight gave us our first proper clues as to what next – with the PM’s letter to Donald Tusk and the white paper on the legislation to repeal EU law and transpose the ‘acquis communautaire’ onto the UK statute books.

Encouraging signs include the line in the white paper that: “the government is committed to ensuring that we become the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it”.

Impacts on wildlife

Recent polling suggested that when it comes to climate change, 80 per cent of British people worry about the impacts on our nature and wildlife above all else. They’re right to: the 2016 State of Nature report showed that over half of our species are in decline, with a tenth of them at risk of disappearing from the UK altogether.

Over the years that we’ve been a member of the EU, we’ve implemented far-reaching protections to slow that decline and manage and reduce risks to wildlife and nature. We’ve done that with our European partners, as a part of the EU – these standards aren’t imposed on us; they reflect that huge public concern for protection of wildlife in the UK. So all of the hard work that led to protections for species, their habitats and protected areas of nature – both on and around our shores – has to be a huge priority for us in terms of bringing EU rules into UK law.

It’s not all risk, though. There are opportunities for us from Brexit.

It’s hard to believe that anyone would set out to design the common agricultural policy (CAP) as it is now – paying some farmers to maintain bare, over-farmed, un-wooded land that provides no sort of home for nature, diminishes UK carbon sinks, and fails to build natural flood defences. Well, if we’re really taking back control, then the opportunity to re-cast support for farmers as something that can make a huge contribution to that commitment to future generations is one we should seize.

Climate and energy

On the climate and energy side of things, there seems less risk to our efforts in the UK. We have, as we know, world-leading climate legislation in our 2008 Climate Change Act. Neither that law nor the carbon budgets that guide us to 80 per cent emissions reductions by 2050 rely on the EU. Our commitment to the Paris Agreement – taking us beyond our existing emissions target – is also not bound up in EU membership.

Yes, the renewable energy directive has helped galvanise deployment of clean electricity, but so too have the huge economic benefits, and the imperatives of those carbon budgets; there’s no good reason why this should drop off without Europe’s oversight. Similarly, we’re part of the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS). But, like CAP, it’s not doing what we need it to – huge oversupply of credits is keeping carbon prices unhelpfully low. We could now begin to imagine a situation where we might, like CAP, design a better system for the UK – enhance our climate action by re-casting these mechanisms to do better than the existing ones.

There are also valuable statutory benchmarks that we’ve established alongside our EU partners over the years – energy efficiency standards for appliances, emissions standards for vehicles, and for industrial emissions standards. Sticking to these when we leave not only supports tackling climate change and cutting air pollution, but also ensures that products built here in the UK still have access to that huge market that we are exiting. In much the same way, access for the burgeoning UK clean energy sector to the European energy market will be critical for jobs and investment here, as well as for further emissions reductions – crucial to helping continue to separate carbon growth from economic growth.

Policing the nonsense

Much of the work is there, done for us. We just need to be careful about how we transpose it into UK law. What we need to police, though, is the counter-narrative. That familiar handful of voices – marshalled into action last week by The Telegraph – who imply Brexit is all about rejecting straight bananas: that Europe is solely a story of rules forced onto us which stifle British business and the entrepreneurial spirit. This is such utter nonsense that it makes me sad all over again that we’re still having to argue against it! The idea that our carpets would be cleaner and our toast browner if only it wasn’t for those soulless Eurocrats making us dim our lightbulbs and throttle our business-folk with red tape. The notion that if we could only kill more insects, birds and mammals, we’d have enough homes and more factories.

Leaving aside the truly daft examples, their beefs almost all ignore the difference between costs and investments. We invest in people in organisations because they deliver those organisations’ purpose; they’re not a cost because they get paid. Investment in replacing all of our lightbulbs with LED ones would save us the cost of the electricity that would be generated by two and a half Hinckley Point C nuclear power stations. We invest in protecting our wildlife because of the profound cost – emotional, economic, and in terms of natural capital benefits – associated with its loss.

So that’s the job ahead: rebut the nonsense; seize the opportunities; police what gets brought over. That should keep us all very busy. And so keep me fired up rather than reflective.

Lake Kenyatta is one of the largest freshwater bodies in Lamu County, on the north Kenyan coast. It supplies water to an estimated 60,000 people as well as being a critical water source for wildlife and livestock. But the lake is under threat, and those threats are growing. When visiting Lake Kenyatta you can’t miss […]

When visiting Lake Kenyatta you can’t miss the large herds of livestock and wildlife grazing and drinking in and around the lake. Indeed it can be hard to locate where the water is under the sea of cattle, goats and other animals competing for access. Some estimates put the current population of cattle around the lake as being over 100,000 and you’d be forgiven for thinking that everyone in the local community was a livestock farmer!

As it happens, this is just one of a number of livelihood practices that are heavily dependent on the lake. Worryingly, the lake is now disappearing right before the eyes of the locals. Poorly planned management means that water is being used unsustainably. At the same time, levels of pollution and sedimentation are troublingly high.

Forest cover around the lake, both in the immediate and wider catchment areas, has been depleted due to human activities. Whilst some agro-forestry (agriculture which involves the cultivation of trees) is being practiced, forest coverage in this area is about 3% which is well below the set national standard of 10%. Removal of trees results in increased soil erosion and siltation of the lake.

On the farms that have been established where trees have been cleared, open flooding irrigation (a system known to waste a lot of water) is regularly being used by farmers. Agro-chemicals are also being used in the farms and these are finding their way into the lake.

Similarly, the watering and grazing of livestock results in siltation of the lake as they churn up the soil in the surrounding area. Domestic water uses (such as from pit latrines or washing) are also reducing water quality as is the risk of salt water intrusion. As the water level in the lake drops, sea water can seep into the lake, increasing levels of salt in the water and impacting the ecosystem.

Demand on the lake is growing

The nearby town of Mpeketoni has been growing rapidly in recent years, associated with increasing economic development opportunities in the surrounding area. High demand for water associated with this population influx has seen the sinking of many wells in the area, with more being sunk each month, leading to over-abstraction of water.

Increasing drought conditions have also meant that livestock farmers from neighbouring counties (and sometimes even further away) are increasingly settling in areas around the lake. When drought conditions were less intense, these nomadic livestock farmers and their livestock would move through the Lake Kenyatta region during the dry season, but return to the neighbouring counties when the rains came. Now, under increasing drought conditions, they fear their livestock will perish if they move on so they are establishing makeshift villages along the lake’s water catchment.

As settlement continues to increase, water levels in the lake continue to go down. Livestock also comes into conflict with wildlife in the area, increasing human-wildlife conflict as well as the risk of disease transmission.

What we’re doing to tackle the problems

It’s complex to say the least! And we can’t solve these challenges alone. Recently we’ve been working with a wide range of stakeholders – from the local community to government agencies – to better understand these challenges and agree short and long-term solutions that will ultimately ensure sustainable use of the lake for people and wildlife.

There’s already been some great progress. The County Government has committed resources to help progress things further. We’re doing a lot of education and outreach work to raise awareness of the challenges associated with the lake and to build capacity for more sustainable water use. Going forward, we’ll be taking some immediate tangible actions – like planting more trees to reduce siltation of the lake – as well as some longer term pieces of work looking at water resources and abstraction rates so that we can help develop a fair and sustainable water allocation plan for around the lake.

We’re also capitalising on the spatial planning work that’s happening in the county at the moment. Each county in Kenya has been mandated to develop a plan which will help guide development over the next 10-15 years. This is a great opportunity for us to ensure that sustainable land use systems are put in place around Lake Kenyatta.

This is a great opportunity for us to ensure that sustainable land use systems are put in place around Lake Kenyatta for the benefit of people and nature

This work is part of WWF’s Coastal Kenya Programme, which is gratefully supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, Size of Wales and the UK Government through the Department for International Development.